Placer-mining machine.



A. L. GGBSL PLACER MINING M LCHINE. APPLIOMIGN mum JULY e, 1907.

Misma@ Jan, E2, T1909.

SHEETS-SHEET 2.

# L. ORSN'.

PLAGES. "MHH-NG MACHINE.

APPLIUATION FILED JULY s, mov.

Patenged Jau. if?, N991 www 4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

A. L. DRSQN.

PLACER MIN NG MACHINE APPLICATION FILED JULY 6, 1907.

Patented Ja* l2, M09.

4 SHEETS-@HEBT 4.

UNITED STATES Fifaliilhllll FFllQE.

ASA L. CORSON, OF PUEBLO, COLORAD.

PLACER-MINXNG MACHINE.

To all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, ASA L. Consob', a citizenof the United States, residing at Fueblo, in the county of Pueblo and State of Colorado, have invented a new and useful lmprovement in Placer-Mining Machines.

The principal objects of my invention are, first, to provide a meanso operating a placer mining machine in quiescent water; and second, to provide such means with a bathing screen for the purpose of washing particles of mineral from the sands; and

third, to provide sets of amalgamating plates and troughs so arranged as to minimize the loss of any minerals; and fourth, to provide a receptacle, containing mercury or other amalgamating tluid,'beneath said amalgamating plates and troughs, through which the sands must pass and thereby further pre vent the loss of any minerals; and fifth, to provide a receiving tank beneath said receptacle, into which the minerals which escape the said plates, troughs and receptacle may ass and find lodgment, thus reducing the oss of minerals to a minimum.

I attainthese objects by the mechanisms illustrated in the drawings heretofore tiled, and-the accompanying amended and additional drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view of the ina-s' chine in partial broken section exposing to view its several parts; and Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the slanting copper plates and troughs with their swee ing plates; and Fig. 3 is a side elevation o the sweeping plates showing the manner of mounting the same to be reciprocated to produce a sweeping movement on, the slanting copper plates and troughs; and Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a porti'. JI the sweeping plates showing the man-n'r of constructing the same; and Fig. 5 is a front elevation of the bathing screen i andworm, with the front one halta of the screen removed to expose the worm. Fig. 6 is a cross .sectional elevation, in perspective, of the cast-iron receptacle, and the pair of agitating paddles that rotate with it. Fig. 7 in a central vertical sectional view through the whole apparatus.

Similar Vnumbers refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

At the to of the inner vrectangular Casin 2, suitable Ibearings are supplied in whic the pipes 3* and 6 may rotate, the pipes being rigidly attached to the end plates 6, Fig. .'5. of the screen 4, and the worm 5 ,is

Speciication of LetterePatent.

Application lekvluly 6, 1907.

Patented Jan. l2', 1909.

l Serial No. 382,530.

rigidly attached to the end plates 6, all forming a .rigid mass that is rotated by means of the motor, gas engine, or other means, that may be belt connected by pulley ll? to pulley L16, which is rigidly attached to shaft Son' one end of which the pinion 7 attached, the latter meshing with large gear S. that is'attached to one of the end plates 6a of the bathing screen.

.luto hopper 3 mineralized sands or ores are ted and enter the bathing screen by gravity. The bathing screen is half submerged in the quiescent water within the casing, and the sands, immediately upon passing into said screen become moistened. As the screen is rotated, the sands that are .too large to pass through the mesh of the screen will .he rolledalong by" means of the worm 5 till the opposite end of the screen'is reached, whereupon the lip 63, which must be rotated in the direction indicated by the arrow, Fig. 5, will gather it up and carry it up and above pipe 6 in such manner that the sand will fall by its own gravity along the dotted line 64, Fig. 5, into' pipe 6 and out of the screen. The rolling motion the sand has undergone by this operation, and its being passed through water, which iills the casing 1, has the desired eectto bathe the sand and jar loose from it any particles of mineral adhering to the sand.

T he sand and mineral that passes through screen 4r will fall on slanting plates 15 and 15', Fig. 2, which are covered with mercury which will take up a part of the mineral, and the cup-like receptacles 56 at the lower edges of said plates are formed like the half of a tube with closed ends. These receptacles may be bent back yunder the plates 15 and 15a. They extend the full length of the plates andA contain mercury over which the sands will pass before coming into contact with the mercury in receptacles 56. The troughs 16 are subtended below plates 15 and 15u in such manner that the sands pass over them and fall into said troughs which contain mercury in their bottoms. On the sides of the troughs 16 are receptacles 57, as shown in Fig. 2, which are shaped like receptacles 56 on plates`15- similar function in troughs 16. The sweep plates and 51 are spaced apart by spacing pipes 58, Fig. 3, which surround rods 55, and are slidable through bearings 62 that are attached to the inner sides of casing 2, and -through suitable bushed holes in the back and front of casing 2. Rods have uptiirned ends that enter suitable holes in angles 59, the latter being riveted at their ends, to angles 60, the reciprocating motion being imparted to the sweep plates by means of pitman rods 48, which are pivotally attached to angles at one end and to cranks 61 at `the other, the said cranks being attachedI to shafts 17 and 18 respectively. These shafts are driven from main shaft 9 by sprocket wheel 11, which is connected to sprocket 11b on shaft 17 by chain 13, and sprocket 11n is connected to sprocket 19 on shaft 18 by chain 14. The upper sweep plates 50 and 51 are braced by brace 52 as are also the similar sweep plates 50 and 51 by brace 52 of the lower ones. The upper sweep plate 51 is connected to the lower sweep plate 50 by brace 53. The slanting plates 15 and 15a and troughs 16 are held up in place by rods 54, the upper edges of plates 15 being hooked over suitable hooks or screws in the side walls of casing 2.

rlhe sweep plates are composed of plates 50a and 50b between which a suitable` piece of belting 50c is held in such manner as to admit the latter to rub on the slanting plates 15 and 15a, or the sides of'troughs 16, while the plates 50:l and 50b are held above said plates ortroughs so as not to abrade the same.

The hopper 24 is attached at its upper sides to the four walls of the casing 2, and its funnel shaped lower end enters down into receptacle 25 in such manner that the sands are fed down into the said receptacle.

On suitable timbers across the top of hopper 24 that are secured to the end Walls of casing 2, bearings are mounted that carry theshafts 21 and'27, and, on the former, the small bevel gear 23 is secured Vand meshes with gear 22 on shaft 27; and by means of sprocket wheel 20, which is secured to shaft 21, and chain 12 about sprocket wheel 10 on main Shaft 9, a rotary motion is given to shaft'27 which carries casting 66, Fig. 6, on which agitating paddles aremounted which are rotatedinside of hopper` 24, caus ing a whirling movement in said hopper.

'The agitating paddles 28 are fastened to the hopper 24, and with it, remain stationary while receptacle 25, which is attached to shaft 27, rotates, and a whirling movement is caused within receptacle 25, thereby causing the sands to be thrown out over the top of said receptacle, whereupon they sink, by their own gravity, to the bottom of the receiving tank 31, being guided by hoppei's 29 and 30 and 32. On the bottom of shaft 27 a bearing 34 rotates over a cone bearing that is secured to the bottom of tank 31, and the arms 36 of bearing 34 carry the paddle arms 35 that rotate with shaft 27 stirring the sands in the receiving tank, thereby causing the same to flow through opening 37 of the tank, and conduit 38 into a receptacle between casings 1 and 2, in which a bucket conveyer is mounted that serves to hoist the sands deposited there from tank 31 up and out of the machine. The ,conveyer buckets are mounted on a sprocket chain 39 which travels over sprocket wheels 41 and 42, the latter being attached to shaft 43 that is driven by pulley 44, which receives its power from pulley 45 on main shaft 9. In making clean ups of the minerals deposited in said machine, the water is drawn off by means of drain cocks 33 and 33, in Fig. 1. The doors of the inner and outer casing 68, 69 and 70, are shown also in Fig. 1.

From the foregoing it may be seen that the several parts of my invention are driven by a motor that may be of any type, by means of a belt fromk pulley 47 to pulle')T 46, the latter being attached to a main shaft 9, on which the several sprockets and a pulley serve to communicate power to operate the bathing screen, sweep plates, to rotate shaft 27 and its attached parts, and to operate the bucket conveyer, the buckets on which are cause the same tp come into contact with thev mercury on the plates, and in the receptacles 56 and 57 attached to them, and the receptacle 25 having mercury in its bottom 67, Fig. G, serves to finally bring the sands into contact with mercury4 since all of the sands must pass down into the receptacle and then upward and out over its top irim, while agitating paddles are vigorously stirring the sands, and the receiving tank 31 receives the sands that pa'ss through the up# per mechanisms together with any mercury or amalgam that is washed past the several receptacles above.

The arrangement of the several parts here in described is such that the copper plates, receptacle, and receiving tank may be removed from within casings 1 and2, Wliere they may be cleaned of the mercury and f amalgam contained in them; and for the' purpose of re'rnovin V doors are provided in the casiiigsv 1 and 2 these parts, suitable sands up and out of the machine, ot' slanting amalganiating -plates and troughs, provided with receptacles for mercury, and that are provided with sweep plates, all arranged inl such manner-that sands falling from one set of plates Wil fall upon another set of such plates or troughs, and thereby cause a further contact of the placer sands with other such plates containing mercury, sub` stantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. In a placer mining machine, the combination with a rectangular casing contained within another rectangular easing, adapted to contain a body of quiescent Water, and a bathing screen, amalgamating Aplates and troughs, a rotating receptacle and a receiving tank,'cf a rectangular casing means of retaining `vater and an arrangement therein of amalgamating plates and troughs in series with sweep plates above, a hopper, provided with agitating paddles, a rotating rer ccptacle, a pipe conduit, a receiving tank in which agitating paddles are provided, and a bucket conveyer, all adapted to handle mineralized sands or ores to remove mineral therefrom, and to dispose of the refuse lsands, substantially as described.

fl. In a placer mining machine, the combination with a rectangular easing Within another rectangular casing adapted to contain a bod)7 of quiescent water, amalgamating `lip means for delivering the sands throu h and out. of the same, substantially as and or the purpose set Jforth. 4. In a. placer mining machine, the combi- -nation' with a rectangular casing Within another rectangular casing adapted to contain a body ot quiescent Water, sets of amalgamating plates and troughs, sweep plates and a receiving tank, of a cone-shaped receptacle adapted to be. rotated by a shaft and adapted to contain mercury at its bottom, substantiallyl as and for the purpose described.

In a placer mining machine, the combination with a rectangular casing within another rectangular casing adapted to contain a body ot quiescent Water, sets of amalgamating plates and troughs, a coneshaped receptacle and a receiving tank, of a sweep plate means for agitating the sand in said water over said aiiialgainating plates and troughs; and rotating paddle means of agitating the sands Within a hopper; and stationary paddle means-of agitating the sands within the rotating cone-shaped receptacle; and toothed 4agitating means on the lower portion of a shaft within a pipe; and paddle means for agitating the sands in a receiving tank. all 'For the purpose of keeping the sands constantly agitated until the same have passed out of an opening in a tank, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof .l have signed my name to thisI specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

j ASA L. C/OBSQN. Witnesses:

JAMES A. PARK, GEO. T1. VALKER. 

